Land Access

The Issue

Finding secure access to land is the number one barrier preventing a generation of farmers from entering the field. The historical roots of unequal land access are entrenched in the culture of private land ownership and various forms of enforced labor and enslavement practiced by European settlers in America. Centuries of policies, laws, and violence have dispossessed Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) of land and labor, while discounting or erasing their contributions to building the country’s agricultural knowledge wealth.

Today in the U.S. 98% of farmland is owned by white people and 95% of farmers are white. This does not mean that all white farmers own land or that all those who do are able to make a living farming on their land. It does mean that almost all large farm owners are white and the wealthiest farmers in the country are white. Farm policy since the mid-20th century has explicitly favored the largest of landowners and farming enterprises, leading to the disappearance of small and mid-sized farms owned by farmers of all races. This trend toward consolidation means that 41% of farmland is now operated by just over 7% of the country’s farms; 30% of farmland is owned by non-farmers; 40% of farmland is leased; and nearly 45% of landlords have never farmed.

Food sovereignty for Tribal nations and Indigenous communities, food justice for communities of color and low-income Americans, the ability of the next generation of farmers and farmers of color to make a living on the land and keep agricultural lands in production using sustainable and regenerative farming methods, all are contingent on the expansion of land access beyond the current landholding class of Americans.

Dig Deeper

These resources are provided for information only; listing here does not imply an endorsement of any organization or its views by SAFSF.

• Land Policy: Towards a More Equitable Farming Future
• American Indian History Timeline
• Indian Land Tenure Issues
• Land Grab Universities
• Settler Colonialism
• How Heirs’ Property Fueled the 90 Percent Decline in Black-Owned Farmland
• Who Really Owns American Farmland
• RECORDING: Land Utilization and Heir(s) Property
• Heirs Property
• Partition of Heirs Property Act State Tracker
• The Short-Lived Promise of “40 Acres and a Mule”
• Latinx Farmworkers Are Purchasing Failing Farms From White Owners

Below is a listing of SAFSF programs and resources related to land access.